Ella, of course, is the definitive, but who else do you like?
There's an Ella YouTube but it's a vocal only, so I won't post it. I always find those disappointing.
Bette?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQnl4TX5wOE
Carmen McRae?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oE32ONYPwU
Bobby Short?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxD1DegO6ug
Or Fred Astaire and Barrie Chase?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eLYCOXjq2s
I vote for Bette.
Didn't Langly perform this song for Phoebe on All My Children once?
Leading Actor Joined: 3/13/07
Yes, Ethel Waters is a serious contender for the best. I wish there were a YouTube.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/13/07
Leading Actor Joined: 12/31/69
This song was one of the few Cole Porter songs NOT written for any show or performer- he wrote it to sing when asked to perform at parties. Can you imagine Cole Porter singing this in a fancy living room????
I was born too late.
Actually he wrote it for his best friend and partner-in-crime, Monty Wooley, to sing.
Here are Cole and Monty, having a little fun.
And here's an anecdote from Charles Schwartz's Cole Porter: A Biography:
"It seems that Cole and Monty Woolley were driving in Manhattan one evening in the thirties, in an open car. They were cruising for some action -- a ‘f**king party,’ as they called it -- when they stopped for a light.
"Spotting a young, virile-looking sailor standing at the corner, they motioned him to come to the car. When he approached them, Woolley quickly spoke up and invited the sailor into the car. Taken somewhat aback by the tone of the invitation, the sailor retorted, ‘What are you, c**ksuckers?’
"Without batting an eyelash, Woolley wittily replied, ‘Well, now that the preliminaries are out of the way, why don’t you jump in the car and we can discuss the matter further.’"
Cole Porter: A Biography
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
Oh I WAS born too late!
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/12/05
Nat King Cole does a great version of this tune as well !
Ya got me all worked up PJ--I was expecting glass coffee tables and veggie chili to figure prominently.
Oh, right--I forgot how much I love Nat King Cole's version!
Bette and Marc will always win out for me.
They have taken a good song, that has an awfully slow tempo, and made it fun.
I thought that you meant that Bette DAVIS was singing it.
I do enjoy Bette Midler's version.
But, you HAVE to admit that if Bette Davis had sung it, it would have been a head-trip.
Bette!!!
**Hearing Bette Davis in my head doing a bizarre, but oddly definitive "Miss Otis"**
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
the versions i know are Ella, Alberta Hunter & Kirsty MacColl.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/18/04
Kirsty sang that?
I loved Bette Midler's version.
Interesting that this thread came up. I have been listening to Bette's version at work for the past few weeks. It popped into my head and I put it in with my work music.
I have always loved Bette's version.
Am at work now and it's playing!
Fred Astaire!
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